According to CAEA head, China supports soonest denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula

BEIJING, January 27. /TASS/. China Atomic Energy Authority (CAEA) is against nuclear tests similar to those held by North Korea at the start of 2016, CAEA head Xu Dazhe told reporters on Wednesday.

"On January 6 DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] carried out the fourth nuclear test causing a strong reaction from other countries. China supports soonest denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," Xu said in response to a TASS question at the presentation of the White Book on Nuclear Energy. "China will work together with other countries on the issue of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," he added.

North Korea announced on January 6 that it had successfully conducted a hydrogen bomb test. The country’s government said in a statement circulated by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) the test had had "no adverse impacts on the environmental situation." Now, according to the statement, North Korea "possesses the strongest deterrent forces."

North Korea previously conducted three nuclear tests: in 2006, in 2009 and in 2013. Following these tests, the United Nations Security Council imposed various sanctions on Pyongyang. In the past two years, North Korea refrained from nuclear tests limiting itself to ballistic missile launches as a response to the US-South Korea large-scale military drills.